According to the Library of Congress, in 1862 President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, opened the door for African-Americans to enlist in the Union Army. Although many had wanted to join the war effort earlier, they were prohibited from enlisting by a federal law dating back to 1792. President Lincoln had also feared that if he authorized their recruitment, border states would secede from the Union. By the end of the U.S. Civil war, almost 200,000 African-American soldiers had joined the fight. They were known as the U.S. Colored Troops. We had the privilege of sitting down with Mrs. Vivian Sims, who was an educator for many decades before finding out that there were soldiers of her race, who also bravely fought in that war. She has lived in Pulaski, Tennessee for 50 years, and that town has a difficult part of its history having been the place where the Ku Klux Klan began. Join us at the table as we hear a redemptive story of what is now being remembered about Pulaski. Read here about the U.S. Colored Troops statue that Vivian Sims had created and installed in June 2023 in Pulaski, Tennessee: In the birthplace of the KKK, she spent $82,000 to erect statue of Black Civil War soldier Steel Magnolias Podcast is an independent show funded solely on support from listeners like you and a few advertisers from time to time. Are you enjoying the show? We hope you’ll text a friend or loved one to tell them about this podcast.  Share link: https://pod.link/1442852139 (make sure they know how to get to a podcast first!) And we invite you to join our mailing list to be the first to know about episodes, giveaways and events….sign up at SteelMagnoliasPodcast.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/steel-magnolias-podcast/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands